two o'clock in the morning, and was resumed again at six o'clock! Their conclusion left Hübmaier in a decidedly more hopeful state—there seemed to him now a fair prospect that his life might be saved. He had made considerable concessions, it is true, but he doubtless persuaded himself that they were not of great moment and did not really compromise his integrity. On the main questions of the supreme authority of Scripture, the baptism of believers only, the rejection of transubstantiation, he could congratulate himself that he had stood firm. His ambiguous statements about what Melanchthon later called adiaphora, he probably believed to be of slight importance.
As a result of this conference and debate Hübmaier sent from his prison to Ferdinand, under date of January 3, 1528, a formal statement (Rechenschaft) of his beliefs, a document that has been called by some of his biographers a recantation. The following summary of these articles, mostly in the words of the author, will show how far this title is justified by the contents:
“1. Faith alone is not enough for salvation. We must
